Vegetarian Holiday Entertaining
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Posted by TK Kenyon Nov 22, 2006 |
With the holiday season upon us like a pack of hungry wolves, there is always a question of what to feed the hungry wolves, especially the vegetarian hungry wolves. With the rest of the pack, you can toss a big, dead bird or salted haunch of pig down on the table, but the veggies are a more difficult to species to please, especially around the holidays. If you, the cook, are a confirmed veggie, there is even more consternation: how can you feed the snarling pack without them noticing that you haven’t cooked something dead?
Several cookbooks can come to your rescue!
Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant by the Moosewood Collective is a great go-to book for feasts. The cookbook is divided into 18 regional or ethinic cuisines, including Africa South of the Sahara, Britian, Chile, China, India, Jewish, and Southern U.S. While some of the recipes are fish-based, the vast majority are not, and there are excellent suggested menus that would make any feast a first-rate fete. The recipes are more complicated than in some of the other books in the Moosewood series, but they’re not too involved. They’re well-written and tasty.
The Williams-Sonoma Vegetarian for All Seasons cookbook is divided into menus and recipes pertaining to the seasons. This book's recipes are primarily for entertaining, not for weeknight meals. The recipes are somewhat extravagant and fussy, but oh-so-tasty and with great presentation. If you want to impress someone, whip up a great appetizer such as the Curried Butternut Squash Filo Squares, an amazing variation on Indian samosas. The cranberry crème brulee is truly phenomenal. It’s a slim book with few recipes, but every one of them is a keeper.
Try these two great South Indian Vegetarian Cookbooks, too!